Drabbles Galore
by jeezlouiez
Summary: Not-so-long fanfics I've written on Tumblr. Requests or not. Crack!Pairings, OTPs (or three's and more!) and friendships. Pairs include, KenLee, BenKen, ClemBen, BenDoug, and more to come.
1. Morse Code

Ben woke up in tears, breathing heavily. All the vivid images and bad feelings rushed back to him in a single moment. His lip quivered as he remembered everything he has just dreamed of, and quickly felt like emptying his stomach.

He was clutching the thin blanket tightly, trying to will all of it to go away. When he started shaking, he realized he couldn't. He'd had a lot of nights like this before, but he had Travis to go to. Here…well, he couldn't just wake someone up. Especially since the group wasn't all too fond of him.

Nonetheless, he got up and looked out the window. It was hard to figure out who was on watch when it was this late, but he saw a red light and he hoped he was right, gathering what little confidence he had to open the door and walk out.

He walked up to the RV cautiously, looking up and nervously messing with his sleeves. "Hey." The man on the RV spoke first, a bit confused, but sounding obviously happy. It really did get lonely out there. "What's the matter?" Ben's face betrayed him and his emotions, causing Doug to worry, despite the darkness.

After a little bit of convincing, Ben joined Doug up on top of the RV for night watch. Doug happily chatted quietly away about this and that, and how there were no walkers for a while. And while it really did start making him feel better, he switched the topic right around and asked him what had happened, and why he looked so sad.

He pursed his lips, looking away slightly. "I…" he sighed, lightly. "I didn't mean to bother you. I just…I had a nightmare and I needed to see someone…alive." He glanced at Doug, who was smiling lightly. It was inviting, comforting, so he looked at him fully.

"I know the feeling, Ben. If I'm ever on watch or…heck, not, you can come to me if you have a nightmare, okay? We all need some kind of reassurance sometimes."

Ben smiled, thanking him in a whisper.

He didn't go back to bed, though. He stayed where he was, watching Doug mess with his laser pointer.

.. .-.. —- …- . -.— —- ..-

"What are you doing?"

Doug stopped, smiling over at him. "Nothing, really. Passing the time. You should go back to bed, Benjamin."

Ben frowned, but silently complied. "Okay." he started climbing down the ladder but paused, looking back at him. "It's, uh, Bennett, by the way."

"Oh! Sorry about that, Bennett. Go to sleep. I'll be here all night if you need me."

Ben nodded, giving one last crooked smile and a small thanks before going back to bed.


	2. Ben on the lookout

"Hey, you don't look so good. Kenny and I are back from hunting now, so why don't you come down and we'll take over from here?" Ben looked down at Lee, who looked genuinely concerned for him. It was a really cold day, and he hadn't been getting all that much sleep. He felt really weak, and was quick to take the offer to stop his shift and go lay down or something.

It was only after he'd gotten off the ladder and moved away from it that he felt dizzy, barely registering where he even was.

He toppled over, but the nearest person caught him. Unfortunately it wasn't Lee, and they both almost fell. Their faced had collided roughly, and though his ears were ringing, he couldn't mistakes Kenny's "Fuck, this kid's realy sick. I told you we couldn't have him on watch." he was sat down on the floor, but his vision faded quickly.

"Yeah, but you never said it was because he was sick."

Ben woke up later in his bed, he tried to sit up but the pounding in his head was too much. He had to lay back down, and when he finally recalled what had happened exactly, he had to cover his face in embarrassment. He could only hope Kenny didn't notice, or didn't care. Because if he did…oh jeez, he was screwed for sure.


	3. A little sleepy

Ben was stuck with watching the kids again. Every time Kenny, or Lily, or LARRY got mad at him they made him go do this. Even then, if they weren't mad at him, they'd put him here. It really sucked. Not because he didn't like the kids—because he did—it just sucked that no matter how hard he tried, he was labeled a child and told to go elsewhere while the 'adults' talked.

He sighed lightly, watching Clementine rub the paper to make leaf imprints. She'd slowed down since he first sat down, but he shrugged it off. Duck was drawing too, but he was laying on the floor.

He looked away, up at the clouds in the sky. Watching the kids do nothing was boring. He'd rather work on something, or even be on watch.

He was taken by surprise when he felt someone lean on him. He looked back down to see Clementine grabbing onto his sleeve and making herself comfortable. He frowned.

"Wh-"

But he shut up. He would probably be yelled at for it later, but for now, he was going to let her sleep there.


	4. In the comfort of a murderer

"Hey, Ken, it'll be—"

_BANG_

"…"

Lee stared on in both shock and concern. His heart hurt for Kenny, but he couldn't imagine how badly _his_ heart must have hurt. He couldn't. He never had a family like that to lose.

He could see Kenny trying his best not to cry anymore. Not to succumb to that sorrow. He looked at him and they locked eyes for a moment. The gun in his hand fell to the ground, and Lee caught him as he practically fell on him.

He was a sobbing mess in seconds. Lee didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around him, leaning his head against Kenny's, taking a moment before giving him some comforting words.

"I can't imagine, Kenny. I'm sorry."

Through all the crying, he managed to choke out, "They're _gone_, Lee!"

Lee almost nuzzled his friend, but stopped himself as he moved to do so. Instead, he breathed out, apologizing again.

His crying started to slow, and Lee spoke up again, moving away just a bit. "Ken, we have to—"

"No, don't leave me!" Kenny held him closer, and Lee frowned. And instead of pressing him he held him close. "I'm not gonna leave you Ken. Shit, you don't ever have to worry about that."

"Don't you dare leave me, you son of a bitch!"

Lee laughed lightly. Probably not the best time, but he did. "Ken, I don't have any intention of leaving. Besides, someone's got to take care of you."

He knew by now Kenny was hiding his face out of embarrassment, but he shrugged it off. "Hey, I'm here for you."

"Yeah, that's rich. A murderer's here for me."

Lee held his hands up defensively as Kenny moved away from him to look him in the eyes. "You're the one that told me to stay!"

Kenny practically growled. "I told you not to leave me."

"Same thing."

Kenny looked like he was going to punch him, so he moved away, looking back.

"They're gonna start worrying about us soon."

Kenny's voice shook. "Yeah…"

Before they started walking, Lee grabbed Kenny's hand firmly, though he was looking away. Neither of them commented on it, and they didn't speak on their trip back. They only shared glances and looks.

They let go before anyone could see.


	5. She fell

He couldn't believe it. She just…fell. He had her, right in his hand, and she..fell. This had to be the biggest he'd fucked up so far. He could hear the yelling behind him, the terrified screams of Christa's lover. He was holding on tight to the sign they had crossed, which broke just as they were nearly across. Looking down.

Down to the horde of zombies that had ceased the woman's screaming in seconds.

He nearly let go himself, but Kenny had grabbed him and pulled him up onto the building. Almost as soon as he was, Omid nearly shoved him off.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!? She was RIGHT THERE!"

Ben opened his mouth, unable to speak. She was right there.

Omid started crying, and Ben did too. Omid wasn't going anywhere, and Ben started sputtering apologies. He didn't know what happened. It just….happened.

Because they always did, just happen.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it was my fault.."


	6. Deal with it

"You okay, kid? You look worse than I do."

"We almost didn't make it out of there because of this asshole. Shoulda left him behind when we had the chance."

Ben just couldn't get over the look that Kenny had given Lee. He hadn't hesitated in pulling him up in the bell tower, but Kenny obviously wanted him dead. He'd made that very clear, many times. He was slightly relieved when they left the room, only because he wanted to just….sit somewhere. He didn't want to think about anything right now. He'd found a nice place next to the grandfather clock, and only glanced up when Molly left.

Kenny had been rummaging around noisily for a while. But he ignored it.

It was relatively quiet until Kenny found the half full liquor bottle he'd stashed just in case he needed it again. Which he did, apparently, because Ben had let him down yet again. He sat down and drank silently, but Ben ended up watching him closely. He may have been in the other room, and he may have not been looking at him, but goddammit he was on the same floor as him and he felt threatened.

Of course, it was probably well deserved. He only held them back. But he couldn't help but be scared.

Kenny had stopped drinking for a good five minutes. He couldn't tell if it was empty or he'd just decided he was done. He was answered almost a minute later when Kenny stood up and stumbled around the couch, breaking the empty bottle against the wall in anger. Fortunately for Ben, he dropped the rest of the bottle on the floor with the shards in his daze.

Ben could not move, however. Maybe it was the voice in his head mistaking Kenny for an extinct species, but really. His fear glued him to his spot on the floor. Well, that is, until Kenny grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him up.

He swallowed, standing up straight. That was as high as the older man was getting him, but he still found himself with his hands behind him, on the wall for support. He didn't want them anywhere near Kenny, for fear he'd think was threatening him—if he even thought he was capable of that.

"BEN—" He slurred, slackening his grip slightly, looking more confused than anything. But he quickly got angry again, staring him in the eyes. "What the FUCK is your problem!?" Before he could react, he was met with a fist in his face, which was probably aimed at his nose but landed on his temple. He could have fallen over, but Kenny thrust him onto the floor in the other direction.  
He hit his shoulder on the clock as he fell, letting out a pathetic yelp, but shut up as the drunkard kicked him, losing him balance and catching himself on the table.  
"Seriously….Ben..why can't you do ANYTHING…right?" he heaved, looking down at the young man.

It took him only a moment to respond. "I-I'm only _human_, Kenny!"

Kenny did not like that answer.

He went back to kicking him, stomping on him and ignoring Ben pleas for help. "Shut up! Human, my ass! You," he slurred again, wiping his mouth. "you might as well be dead!" Ben wailed when the pain really started getting to him.

It didn't take much longer for Christa to come downstairs, shoving Kenny away from Ben. She got in the drunkards face, and for a moment, there was fear on his.  
"I know you're mad. But it was Lee's choice to do what he did, s_o deal with it._" She practically could have spit in his face, but she stormed off instead. Kenny left Ben alone for the rest of the night.

Ben didn't sleep too well with his headache, and Kenny didn't wake too well with his.

—

"I'm glad it wasn't me making that decision, then."

Ben really didn't like himself right now. He didn't like it when people talked about him, he didn't like that he had screamed earlier…which got them in their current mess. They were stuck in the attic, and the 'adults' were taking care of breaking down the wall. He wasn't a part of that because Kenny was being the leader, and he didn't want him to screw it up.

He lightly massaged his bruised shoulder, looking away from the stares he was getting from the couch.

Kenny shrugged. He reached into a nearby box and pulled out a bottle of alcohol. When he looked back, both Christa and Lee were giving him hard glares. He slumped his shoulders almost immediately, placing the alcohol back and standing up, walking over to the young man.

"Ah…Ben?"

Ben narrowed his eyes and looked up at Kenny. He removed his hand from his shoulder and placed it around his knees. He didn't answer him. He looked like he was waiting for something—another apology, maybe.

"Look, I didn't know about all that. I'm real sorry, okay?"

Ben didn't seem too pleased. He looked away slightly, then back at him. Kenny only looked a little irritated.

"Is that all?"

Now he looked really irritated.

"Goddammit, kid! I'm tryin' to apologize here!"

Ben stood up, glaring at Kenny. "You already did!"

Kenny glared back. "Then what the fuck do you want from me!?"

"An apology for the right thing!"

"There's nothing else to apologize for!"

In a short instant, the both of them were on the ground. Ben had pushed him, taking him by surprise. But the most surprising thing was the hands around Kenny's neck.

"Hey guys, what's goin' on?" Omid's remark sounded like it was a mile away.

Kenny didn't fight, he placed his hands around Ben's arms, looking him in the eyes as best he could. He was struggling for air, but it didn't last too long. Christa and Lee had gotten up to help, but Ben's hands slowly fell away from his neck, tears streaming down his face.

Lee helped him up and he simply walked away. Past Omid, who was possibly the most confused person ever at the moment. Kenny didn't get up for a few minutes. He wasn't particularly hurt or anything, no. He was fine.

Christa sighed, shaking her head. Lee spoke up, though rather quietly. "You guys need to get it together."

Omid shrugged, "Or get together, y'know."

Kenny sat up and glared. "Omid, I swear to God."


	7. Like a sibling

"Everything in life…is meaningless."

Ben sighed. He let the small black book in his hands fall onto his stomach as his arms fell limp. He looked to the side, staring at the wall. He'd been reading the Bible he found early in the day, mostly because he was avoiding Kenny and Lily. If he wasn't around for, well, anything, then they would have less to yell at him about.

Unfortunately, he'd been reading the most depressing part of the book itself, and couldn't stop the negative thoughts after that. He sighed again, sitting up and looking through the drawer next to the bed sloppily. He found a piece of paper—perfect for a bookmark, until he turned it over. It was an unused sheet of stickers, well, mostly unused. They were flowers of many colors, and he actually found himself smile. His little sister was a big fan of stickers, and she used to put them on everything. Including him.

He closed the book, placing it back in the drawer. He no longer cared for reading it right now, he had another task at hand.

"And then, the dragon blew the fire, and, he burned the castle, and, but, the princess got out, cuz, she's like, cool,"

Clementine stared at Duck for a long moment while he scribbled on his paper. What was once a distinguishable picture of a green dragon and a young maiden in castle, was now a scribbly mess of colors. She smiled lightly as he continued his story, and went back to hers.

"Hey, uh, Clementine?"

Both children looked up to Ben, who knelled down.

Duck visibly frowned when Ben handed Clementine the sheet of stickers. She beamed.

"I just found these. Can you use them?"

Clementine could barely contain herself. "Yeah, I can! Thank you so much!" she moved forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a small squeeze before letting go. He was surprised to say the least, and Duck was less than happy.

Ben smiled at her, standing up. "Okay, I'm glad. You do that, then." But he was stopped as he turned around, Clementine's smiling face still looking up at him. "Do you want to join us in coloring?"

So he did. Duck pouted a lot but he got back into his story telling, while Clementine added the stickers to her walkie-talkie, then had to look at what Ben was drawing. "Wow, you're really good." She looked up at him almost sadly, but he smiled. "I had an art class in school. What about you?" she smiled lightly, hitching her shoulders. "Yeah, we had one. But it was never this…" Ben looked at her, then the paper. "Detailed? Yeah, you learn that later." She moved and grabbed her piece of paper, scooting closer to him and trying to mimic his simple drawing of a dog.

After a few minutes though, Duck got up, obviously angered by something, and left. They both shrugged it off and continued to talk, while he left to go find his dad. And when he did, he pouted greatly and tugged on his shirt.

"Dad, Dad!"

Kenny looked down at him, frowning. "What, what? What is it?"

Duck looked like he could cry. "The Princess has been tempted by a warlock!"

Kenny sighed. "Boy, please take your stories back to Clem, okay?"

Duck did as he was told, but the little spat that resulted had to be broken up by Doug.

"Man, she really likes him."

Lee chuckled lightly, nodding. "Yeah, Duck likes her too. Hopefully they get to live their lives out."

Doug glanced at Lee, quietly agreeing. "…yeah."


	8. Just like that

"Go, Lee. Go to her. We'll be fine."

Lee frowned, looking down. He knew there was no way Ben was getting out of that. But Kenny..he sighed, shaking his head.

"No, Kenny, I can't—"

"Lee"

Lee stopped, the tone in his friends voice was fierce, but not angry. But it was enough to make him shut up.

"I'll be fine. You do what YOU have to to make sure that little lady is alright."

Lee frowned again, and Kenny pushed him lightly toward the fire escape. He complied silently, after looking back at him with a broken heart. Kenny only shrugged and shook his head, looking hurt himself.

When lee started climbing, Kenny went back to Ben. He was breathing just fine right now. His breaths were a little fast, but they were rolling over.

"You okay?"

Ben looked up at Kenny, who sat on the ground next to him. He frowned deeply, his eyes were watery from the pain of it all.

"No, I'm not, Kenny."

He nodded. "Like hell you ain't. You broke your leg, and you've got that," he nodded toward the balcony below them. "in you."

Ben let out a shaky sigh. He looked down. He hadn't even felt himself get impaled. He only felt the pain in his leg. Even now, the pain in his chest was minimal compared to that of his leg.

"For a minute there, I thought you would have been okay."

Ben looked back at Kenny, keeping his breaths under control. "I thought so too."

The older man frowned. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so hard on you—on anyone, in our group. I was especially harsh on you."

"With good reason."

He furrowed his eyebrows, leaning over slightly. "Now listen here, you're not going to be blamin' yourself anymore. I was mad. But it ain't your fault, Ben. No one else's but mine."

The young man breathed out and glanced at Kenny. He didn't seem too convinced, but he didn't push the issue.

"Ben."

He stayed quiet, and Kenny sighed. "I'm…sorry, I couldn't do anything for you." the young man sniffed, bringing his left arm up and wiping his face, whimpering quietly. "It's not your fault, Kenny. I just—I-I'm a fuck up."

Kenny shrugged and shook his head. "You fucked up as much as we all did." Ben looked at him, slightly confused. "What?" the older man nodded. "We all made mistakes—big ones. But that's in the past."

They stayed silent for a while. Lee had left with Omid and Christa, and the only other sounds were the wind and the faint moaning and groaning of the Walkers.

"I'm sorry—"

Ben almost glared at Kenny, and he shut up.

"You're starting to sound like me, Ken."

Kenny laughed lightly, shrugged. "I just feel bad, kid." Ben frowned. "I'm not a kid."

"Right, sorry about that."

There was more silence, but the noises were getting louder.

"Do you have any regrets? I know you're not as much of a believer like me, but…it could help." Kenny looked Ben in the eyes.

"I regret a lot of things."

"Like what?"

"Like not trying harder to talk to you."

Kenny frowned. "That wasn't your fault. I pushed you away."

"I regret letting Doug do what he did for me."

"Lily did that."

"I regret not asking if I could help with the train."

Kenny smiled. "How come?"

Ben smiled too. "I like trains."

He laughed slightly, shaking his head. "Well, I would have liked the company…but I don't think I could have handled it in the state of mind I was in." He slumped his shoulders as he glanced up. There were Walkers coming into the alley.

He didn't tell Ben though. "I regret a lot of things too, Ben. I regret the way I treated everyone. I regret the things I said to you. I…regret." He shook his head, and Ben held out his hand.

"I'm not all that comforting but…I forgive you."

Kenny took his hand with his free one, the other one holding a gun.

"And if it means anything to you, Ben. I forgive you too."

Ben smiled, tears finally rolling down his face. But he was quickly overcome with fear, seeing the Walkers behind Kenny.

"Oh God, Kenny! They're behind you!"

Kenny frowned. "Shh. I know."

"And I'm sorry."


	9. Watch where you're walking

"Oh….God.."

The camp was a disaster.

The tallest of the three stood still while the other two started walking on the remnants of what they had called their temporary home. Their tent was gone. All their resources were taken. And whatever else they had was broken on the ground.

There was blood everywhere.

"I don't think we can salvage anything." the black haired teen looked back at the tallest one, Ben, and frowned. Whatever food they had was gone now.

"Travis," their teacher, Mr. Parker, looked Travis in the eye and nodded lightly.

Travis made his way quietly over the debris and to his classmate, who he stood by, but didn't say much. Their camp had been raided by bandits. They pointed guns at them and they shot at them. They barely escaped with their lives, as they had been for a while. Most of everyone hadn't been as lucky as them. Their bodies littered the ground.

He glanced up at his friend who didn't seem to look scared at this point. He was sad. They locked eyes for a moment, and Travis nodded. They had nothing left.

"It's okay guys, My Dad—" Ben scoffed and dropped his arms to his side, cutting Travis off and making their teacher whip around to look at them. Ben shrugged in anguish and turned around, walking away from the mess.

"Wait, Ben," Mr. Parker looked almost panicked, and Travis made sure to stick by him. They left the camp and their teacher took the lead, like he always did.

—

"Oh shit! What do we do!?"

Travis narrowed his eyes as he looked over at Ben, then knelled down next to their teacher on the ground. There was lots of blood, but Mr. Parker had been staying mostly quiet. Well, not really. He definitely screamed at least two times. But who could blame him? There was a fucking bear trap snapped to his leg.

Travis undid his belt and whipped it off, curling it around his teacher's caught leg and tightening it as much as he could.

Neither of them could do anything about the trap, and Mr. Parker started saying things like "Leave me here," and "Just find somewhere safe to stay." Ben became hysterical. He'd seen enough already, and this was setting him over the edge.

Through a breathy, tear jerking rant between Ben and his teacher, sounds could be heard. Travis stood up, looking around, terrified.

"Shh!"

Ben and Mr. Parker stopped talking, labored breathing the only noise besides the wind. But then they heard the leaves crushing, footsteps, and all three of them panicked.

"Howdy, y'all."

Travis was scared, and Ben had tears in his eyes. But the two men in front of them didn't exactly look like bandits. They didn't talk like them, either, and they found themselves relaxing just a tiny bit.

"Are you folks all right?"

Only one of them was armed, but he wasn't pointing the gun at them.

Travis looked back at them for support. But Ben looked away, and Mr. Parker could barely understand what was going on. He warned them not to harm his students, practically begged them.

"Now we're not here to hurt anyone." The taller one waved his hands defensively, and the other one spoke up. "We were hunting and we heard screams." the taller one nodded and smiled. "Yeah, and we wanted to see if we could help."

Ben was crying and Travis took the initiative. "Okay guys, please, can you help us? Just help us, and we'll be on our way. We don't want to die." he looked emotional, and Mr. Parker was speaking quietly to his other student, slowly coaxing him closer.

When the two brothers—which was calmly explained by the older one, Andrew—got close, they didn't even try to move Ben. Andrew worked around him while the younger brother, Dan, made sure there were no 'deadies' nearby.

He was unable to take the trap off of him without the necessary tools, but he was able to detach the chain connecting it to the tree. He slung the teachers arm over his shoulder and helped him walk. It was painful, but it was better than being a sitting duck.

—

They made it back to the brother's farm without much incident. Andrew sat Mr. Parker down by the house's fence and went off to the barn, assuring him it'd be off in a jiffy. Dan swore about bandits and setting up traps and that they were sick, and him and Travis both ranted about it.

Ben stood by his teacher silently, and then a woman came out to greet them. She learned all their names and ushered them inside, where it was more relaxing.

Andrew got the trap off of Mr. Parker, and Dan helped him upstairs to better heal.


	10. Bitten

**-a not-so-dead walker bites Andy as he's clearing the perimeter-**

Andy yelled out in pain. Danny whipped around, but not fast enough. He raised Charlotte and shot the dead that had a hold of his brother. For a second, panic showed on his face as it fell to the ground. This wasn't first time they turned the fence off prematurely, causing some of the dead to be _not_ so dead.

He shook his head, clicking his tongue and taking a step closer to his brother. "Are you alright?"

Andy wasn't looking at him. He was far enough away from the fence to feel safer, but he was clutching his arm tightly.

"Shit." Danny stated, glancing at him harshly from his arm. "Andy, tell me that blood's from the barbed wire.." He took a hesitant step side ways, trying to look him in the face.

There was a strained pause as the older brother grunted lightly. "..It ain't." There was another pause, and Danny slung his gun over his shoulder, forcefully moving Andy's arms and lifting his sleeve up to inspect the wound.

His eyebrows hitched and he stared in disbelief for a good three seconds before he composed himself—for his brothers sake. "You've been bit."

It was kind of an obvious statement by now, but it needed to be said.

A silence followed it, though. The wind on the trees their only attachment to reality.

They both stared at the ground. Awkwardly glancing at the bloody wound and each other briefly.

"We gotta tell Mama."

Danny grimaced. "And then what, Andy? Jesus, you saw what happened to Daddy. To our farmhands!" He threw his arms out in anger, waiting for a response. None came, and he crossed his arms.

"We're not tellin' Momma. It'd break her."

Andy furrowed his brow and flexed his arm a little bit, looking down. "Then..?" his voice was quiet, but Danny heard the emotion in it. His expression softened.

"I'm thinkin'."

His brother shook his head.

"I don't wanna become one of _them._"

Danny frowned and swallowed as he followed his brothers gaze past the fence and to the numerous dead that littered the once peaceful paths.

"Don't worry,"

His voice was low, Andy looked at him but he was still staring out. "I've got your back."

After more silence and no answers, Andy shuddered. He stumbled and fell over, his eyes closed.

As much as Danny's instincts—and emotions—told him to get down to check his pulse, to see if he was okay, he took a good few steps back and raised his gun right at him.

He cocked it, and waited.

After what he thought were the most painful minutes of his life, Andy opened his eyes and groaned. Not dead. Danny sighed in relief, taking his finger off the trigger.

"Andy, you can't _do_ that."

He looked up at him from his spot on the ground. Any and all emotion he had held in to be strong for his little brother showing.

Danny shook his head and scoffed as he put Charlotte away and knelt down to him. "As great and all as it is that you're bein' a tough guy, like ya always been.." he paused, his eyes still harsh. "if you're ever gonna cry about this, now would be as good a time as any."

So he did. It was not often either of them let down their defenses like this.

So younger brother held older as the two of them grieved for their impending loss.

"You boys are goin' out already? It's almost supper time!"

Danny shrugged, looking his mother in the eyes. "It's as good a time as any, Momma." he internally cringed, but kept his face straight.

"Is Andy all right with this?"

Danny nodded as he turned to leave. "_Yeah_, Momma, he's the one who suggested it."

"Well all right then, but be back before it gets dark! You two get lost when y'all can't see."

Danny agreed and walked away from the house. He helped Andy carry the shovel and bear trap as they set off into the forest.

Andy flexed his arm again, and Danny questioned him almost immediately. "How are you feelin'?" he asked for probably the tenth time today. Andy grunted.

"It burns real bad," he frowned, not looking at his brother and clearing his throat. "but it ain't unbearable."

"How's your head?"

As he was about to reply, he blacked out again.

Danny dropped his things and raised Charlotte again, cringing as he steadied his breath. He wasn't down for long, and this time Danny helped him up and brushed him off.

Andy apologized, and Danny brushed that off too.

"Let's get to work."

And by that, he meant he'd get to work while he forced Andy to sit down. He threw the trap somewhere and got to digging. He never turned his back to him, so he made sure he was turned toward him.

They were silent, until Andy spoke up with a small smile on his face. He looked tired. "Y'know, Dan, I always thought you were diggin' your _own_ grave," he paused to laugh as Danny looked up at him. "but here ya are, diggin' _mine._" he shrugged, and his brother shook his head and continued.

"Are you sure you're alright with this?"

He stopped to move the hair out of his face, watching his brother carefully.

Andy shrugged in his spot against a tree. "I'd rather it be like this."

There was a small pause. "Alright."

When the hole was deep enough, Danny helped his brother up and sat him down by it. He frowned. He was pale—paler than he'd ever been.

"I'm not gonna make it, man."

"Yeah."

Andy smiled again. "I always thought I'd outlive ya," he grunted. "maybe on normal circumstances."

Danny frowned more. "That's a _little_ rude."

Andy raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry." he paused.

They stared at each other and for once, Danny instigated it. He wrapped his arms around his brother and hugged him tightly.

He was quiet as Andy returned the embrace weakly.

"I know, Dan. I'm gonna miss you too."

Danny moved slightly, burying his face into his brother. He made sure to lose himself in his scent just once before he moved away for the last time. Andy did the same.

Danny took a couple steps back, and then one more, before almost hesitantly taking Charlotte into his hands. He raised her and pointed right at his brothers head.

Andy looked down in resignation.

Danny frowned, tense. "_Dammit,_ _look at me, Andrew!_"

Andy hitched his eyebrows and looked up at his brother, past the barrel of his gun.

There was silence as Danny's vision blurred. He closed his eyes tightly, ridding himself of the problem.

Andy's face softened as his brother was slowly breaking down. He thought it best not to apologize, again, so as last effort at being his older brother, he straightened up.

"_Now, Daniel!_" he said firmly, and just as it left his lips, the trigger was pulled.

Andy fell limp.

Danny dropped Charlotte.

There was no movement.

Not for a while. Danny whipped his face and swore and her moved toward his brother. The plan as for him to fall in. That didn't work so well, so he grabbed him and helped him in with a grunt.

After a pause, he cursed loudly as he grabbed the shovel.

"You're a fuckin' _PRICK!_" He screamed into hole. "Momma's gonna hate me no matter_what_," he ranted, shoveling dirt into the hole. "she's gonna blame _me_!" he threw more dirt in.

It got to the point where he could just kick the dirt into the hole, so he did.

"I can't _believe_ you," he glared where he presumed his brother was. "I can't believe," he choked. "you thought I could _handle_ this!" he sat himself down forcefully as he finally let himself slip, sobbing into his hands.

"I hate you!" he screamed. "I can't do this!"

He didn't get much time to himself, though. All his noise brought about the dead, so he had to pick himself up, as well as Charlotte, and get himself home.

"_What happened!?_"

She was practically screaming at him now, tears in her eyes. He came home panicked, gave her a full story on how there was an ambush with the bandits, how they were surrounded, how he got shot in the head. He was dead.

And still she asked him what happened.

Maybe it was a mothers instinct, or maybe she was just in denial.

She sobbed, screaming at him, asking him why he didn't do anything to save him.

He frowned, deciding it was the latter.

"I couldn't, Momma! I'm lucky to have my life right now, _you_—"

"Don't tell _me_ how to feel, Danny!"

And for a second, Danny was scared. He thought she would push him, hit him, and when she didn't, when she walked away to her room to cry, he felt like she should have hit him. He probably deserved it.

"I can't believe this!" Brenda cried out. "I lost Terry and now…_now_.."

Danny was silent, his gaze falling to the floor. Brenda sobbed loudly.

"..I," his throat was dry, and he dropped his voice to a mere whisper. "I can't either."

He didn't move for a while, and when he did, Brenda yelled again. Sobbing at first, but then he heard her words.

"I can't believe you!"

He shrugged, lugging himself upstairs.

"Yeah, I know."


End file.
